MINNEAPOLIS — Sometimes, Nuggets coach George Karl will go on and on about the history of basketball or his passion for developing coaches or his unwavering respect for his mentors, and you realize how much he just loves coachin’. It’s what he does. It’s who he is.

Here in Minneapolis, the media is breaking down current Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale, who actually did an O.K. job with a healthy roster since taking over. But I remember when McHale first started coaching this season, the Timberwolves were in Denver, and you could just hear in his voice that he was on-the-fence about the rigors of his new job. At the Nuggets-Timberwolves game on Sunday, one Minnesota beat reporter said that McHale seemed “ambivalent” toward coaching in the future. While Karl wants to keep coaching until his son, currently a pro player overseas, is on the bench with him, McHale, well, who knows?

Karl was asked about the common traits of coaching “lifers,” guys who can’t live without being on the sideline. With a smirk, Karl said: “We’re sick. We just enjoy competition too much. Kevin has done a nice job with the team and a tough situation, but does he want to go through the fight of expectations? And then the next step and the next step? The Western Conference is incredibly difficult. Phoenix would have a home court in the East and won’t make the playoffs in the West.

“But for me, I just like being in the gym, personally. I have two families – my personal family and my basketball family. I enjoy being with both of them.”

And so, Karl was asked – Can you do this job long-term if you’re not sick?

“Probably not,” Karl said. “There’s just too many things that can blow you up or turn you off. The passion (is) when you win, the beer tastes like champagne, and when you lose, you think you’re never going to win again. It takes a pretty hard-driven (person) that has to coach as many games as I’ve coached.”

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.